Every once in awhile, I write about wines that are not Italian. Today is one of those times.

My friend, Tori Domenico at Wagstaff Media & Marketing, recently sent me three vintage ports that Wagstaff represents. I must now state that I do not profess to be a connoisseur of Port wines, having only recently begun to enjoy them. However, I would be remiss if I failed to report my experience while tasting these, but I do not rate these with numerical values.

Without attempting to go into the history of Port wines, I can say that most of the recognized “great” Port wines seem to originate from Portugal. That is not to say that excellent Ports cannot come from other places. However, Portugal appears to be the leader in Port wines.

The three vintage Ports that Tori sent to me all came from Portugal. The first one that we tasted was a 2018 Quinta Da Roeda Croft produced by Quinta and Vineyard in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. I had tasted another Croft before and liked it. I found this one light and smooth. If you are new to Port, this might be a good start.

Our second Port was a 2018 Fonseca Porto Guimaraens. The Guimaraens was made from specially selected grapes from a classic vintage year. I found this Port to be smooth and pleasant to taste. This would be good for both beginners and experienced Port lovers.

The final Port was a 2018 Taylor Fladgate also produced by Quinta and Vineyard in Vila Nove de Gaia, Portugal. This was, at least in my opinion, the star of the tasting. The Taylor Fladgate was very full and very smooth, a real pleasure to drink. I feel certain that this will be the most expensive of the three but if you are a real lover of Port, this will be an exceptional Port to share with friends and family.

My thanks go to Tori and the folks at Korbrand, the sole US importer of these Ports.